The Catholic Church in Germany will soon begin offering blessings to homosexual couples, according to a decision made this Friday (October 3) at a session of the synodal assembly in Frankfurt, a dialogue forum created to promote the reform of Catholicism in the United States advance country.
According to the German Catholic news agency KNA, the blessing should also be allowed for people who have been remarried and divorced in a civil registry office.
The KNA also announced that there was a recommendation to the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics “to develop and introduce suitable liturgical celebrations in a timely manner” so that the measure took effect.
A working group is to be formed to produce a “promptly” workbook for Blessings to determine how Blessings should be conducted. Once the workbook is complete, each bishop can conduct blessings in his diocese. The experiences will be evaluated in 2026.
Of the 202 members of the assembly, 176 voted in favor, 14 against and 12 abstained. With this result, the twothirds majority required for an amendment was achieved.
The approval of blessing ceremonies for samesex couples was one of the central demands of the Synodal Path reform process, which has been ongoing since 2019, and is considered a major challenge and litmus test for the reform ability of the Catholic Church in Europe Germany.
The Sinodal Way is a progressive Catholic movement that seeks, for example, to end celibacy for priests and establish women as deacons.
Vatican and Germany
The reform movement was launched by the Church in Germany in the face of a record number of Catholics leaving congregations and also due to cases of sexual abuse at the facility.
In 2021, the number of Catholics fell below 50% of the German population for the first time in history.
In the past, the Vatican has argued that it views the Synodal Way’s appeals as initiatives that could divide the Church.
As early as 2021, the Vatican warned that the blessing of homosexual couples is not permitted according to the teaching of the Catholic Church and that this type of union “cannot be objectively recognized according to God’s revealed plans”.
In July 2022, the Holy See warned German reformers that they had no authority to instruct bishops on moral or doctrinal matters.
Blessing celebrations are already practiced in many German Catholic communities, but they take place in a gray area of canon law and in private gatherings. Now blessing priests no longer have to fear sanctions. Divorcees who remarry should also be able to be blessed.
gb (dpa, KNA)